Manila: United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. has data supplied by the justice department of the Philippines which served as the basis of his statement that 40 per cent of male foreign tourists come to Manila for sex, Manila’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario said.
“(He said) this basis that we have (on that claim) can be substantiated by the department of justice (because) we’ve worked very closely (with the DOJ) in terms of dealing with the human trafficking problem (in the Philippines),” del Rosario quoted Ambassador Thomas as saying, during a Senate hearing on national budget.
But the DOJ has denied having such a data, exclaimed Senator Chiz Escudero who has been asking Manila’s foreign affairs secretary to chastise Thomas for his statement.
“He (Thomas) simply passed the ball to the DOJ. The DOJ has stated that no one knew where Ambassador Thomas got his figures,” Escudero said.
“I hope the Foreign Affairs Department would act more strongly against such statements that tend to embarrass not only our country but our people as a whole,” Escudero said, adding, “I don’t think we should take it sitting down. I don’t think we should take it calmly, I don’t think we should take his word for it and let him get away with it.”
Meanwhile, Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee, said Thomas should substantiate his claim.
“I think it would be irresponsible for a member of the diplomatic corps not to substantiate (such a statement),” Legarda said.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Franklin Drilon also doubted the figures claimed by Thomas.
Earlier, during a roundtable discussion of Court of Appeals magistrates on human trafficking, Thomas said, “We know that 40 per cent of foreign men who come to the Philippines, including from the US, come for sexual tourism.”
